


close to you

by thoughquaking (xigithy)



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Keyblade Master Isa (Kingdom Hearts), M/M, Master Isa AU, Oral Sex, Porn With Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:33:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28819305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xigithy/pseuds/thoughquaking
Summary: give me fire, give me fire-it'll burn all your fear away...i still got my eyes on you, baby.The Keyblade Master and the Assassin spend a night together.
Relationships: Axel/Saïx (Kingdom Hearts), Isa/Lea (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 32





	close to you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [radovanryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/radovanryn/gifts).



> Timeline wise, this takes place somewhere during chapter ten of "the subtle grace of gravity" but this fic can pretty much be read as a standalone!

Isa’s been fighting the heartless for close to an hour when _he_ shows up.

It starts with what’s grown to be the all-too-familiar smell of smoke and soot permeating the cramped back streets of Traverse Town. Twin chakrams whiz past Isa’s head, intentionally just missing the tips of his ears, and hit the massive beast point-blank in the chest. The heartless bellows, swingingly wildly around for the new aggravator, but is met instead with a stream of blue fire. Flames catch one of its wings, setting it ablaze, and the demon creature howls in pain.

With the heartless distracted, Isa forgets himself for a moment and begins to look around wildly for the familiar mane of wild red hair. _Lea_ was never one to stand idly by in the shadows and, if Axel is anything like his other, he’ll be around momentarily to boast about saving the Keyblade Master’s life. But in Isa’s foolish distraction, he leaves himself open to attack, and the heartless sees the opening for what it is and takes it. It barrels towards him, swiping a massive claw at Isa’s chest, and knocks him clean off his feet. Isa goes flying through the air before connecting hard with cool, damp cobblestone and he skids several yards away, coming to an abrupt halt as he collides head-first against the brick exterior of a building. He shifts, trying to stand, but white pain shoots through him and Isa winces.

“ _Tsk_.” Axel’s voice croons out from an alcove above Isa- and though he speaks loud enough so that Isa can hear him above the enraged roaring of the heartless, the sound is soft enough that Isa could swear the other man was right beside him, speaking at his ear. “I thought you Keyblade Masters were made of stronger stuff than _that_.”

“I don’t take well to distractions.” Isa painfully pulls himself into a seated position and, despite the situation that is edging on dire, he smiles to himself. “You _used_ to know that.”

“I _remember_ -” Axel leaps off the alcove and lands effortlessly in front of Isa, his back to the Keyblade Master. With a cocky tossing of his hair, the nobody reassumes his fighting stance. “You really only didn’t take well to _one_ kind of distraction.”

If there’s a grin on Axel’s face as he retorts and summons his weapons back to him, Isa is unable to see it. But like with most things- and despite the wedge that’s been firmly placed between them by time and distance- Isa feels a connection to Axel, to Lea, and so he can feel the smile hugging the corners of the other man’s face.

But before Isa can respond in a similar vein, Axel is rushing the heartless that still rampages before them, hurling chakram after chakram at the beast in an attempt to draw its ire away from the injured Keyblade Master and to himself. The heartless and Axel clash- metal meeting teeth and wings and claws- and it’s all Isa can do to sit there and watch, utterly spellbound by the battle.

The two adversaries dance around the narrow passageway of their makeshift battleground- and it’s a spectacular meeting of fire and darkness. Axel is unrelenting in his attacks- the way Isa has come to know him to be- but there’s something different in each strike he makes. In their past battles, every move from the nobody seemed calculated- controlled- but now his moves, fluid as they are, have a hint of urgency in them that reads just a little too sloppy to be intentional. At last, Axel finishes off the beast; with one final blow to the heartless’s neck, it dissolves back into darkness, and the nobody takes a moment to double over and catch his breath.

“ _That’s_ how you take care of a heartless.” Axel looks back towards where Isa still sits and grins again, still huffing and puffing, before sauntering his way back over to the Keyblade Master. “Or do they not teach you that in keyblade school?”

The assassin reaches a gloved hand out to the other man and Isa blinks dumbly at it, unaware for several embarrassing seconds that Axel means to help him up. Axel clears his throat meaningfully and it finally clicks. Isa grips the other man’s hand and as Axel helps pull Isa to standing, the Keyblade Master averts his eyes from the honeyed-amber gaze of his old friend, equal parts embarrassed to have been helped by him and something else that Isa can’t _quite_ put his finger on.

“You’ve taken care of it for now, yes.” The hint of a smirk ghosts onto the corners of Isa’s face as he pulls his hand from within Axel’s. “But without the keyblade to release its heart, the beast will be back on this world within the week. _Or do they not teach you that in nobody school_?”

Isa motions to take a step forward, clutching his side as he braces himself, but he stumbles almost immediately and nearly tumbles back towards the ground. In an instant, Axel is again by his side, quickly and effortlessly positioning himself under Isa’s left arm and wrapping his own around the Keyblade Master’s waist as support.

“It’s a good thing I showed up when I did,” Axel chuckles- softer than Isa can remember ever hearing from him- and Isa readjusts his weight against the other man with a soft sigh. “Any longer on your own and ugly back there would’ve ended you.”

“I can handle myself- _thank you_.” The indignance in Isa’s voice is palpable, though thoroughly overshadowed by the tint of embarrassment that colors his face. “It was _handled_.”

Axel only laughs, shrugging his free shoulder, and begins to help Isa down the walkways of the back streets towards the second district.

“You can’t stay here,” Axel answers Isa’s question before it’s even been asked, “And traveling back to your home base is too risky. There’s a hotel on this world where you can spend the night- and, y’know, it’s not the worst place to recoup.”

* * *

The rest of their trip is spent in silence and, although the voyage from the back streets to the hotel in the second district is a long one, the time it takes them to get there seems like no time at all. In fact, Isa has barely registered that they’ve arrived at the proper building before Axel is easing Isa off his shoulder and leaving the Keyblade Master seated on a bench while he slips inside to procure a room.

The door to the front of the building shuts and, as it does, a deep frown settles into Isa's features.

Why is Axel doing this for him? Surely it would have been easier to just leave Isa to his own devices; surely it would have been easier for the whole _Organization_ to simply let the heartless overpower Isa- one less Keyblade Master to throw a wrench in whatever plans they have in motion. There was no reason for Axel to jump in and save him, and even less reason for Axel to then help Isa to the safety of a _hotel_. So then, _why_?

He’d spoken to Isa so softly back on the streets that, for half a moment, he’d almost been convinced that the redhead was going to suggest they go out for ice cream- as they often did after school or after a failed infiltration of Radiant Garden’s castle. It was almost like.... being home again. He wasn’t the battle-hungry, revenge fixated nobody that Isa has had the displeasure of dealing with for many moons now. He was the distant guardian that Roxas and Xion had spoken so highly of during their afternoons together; he was the boy Isa spent every summer with, the boy he’d promised to do anything to save- for a moment, he was _Lea_ again. And honestly, Isa isn’t sure if that worries him or not.

Isa falls deeper into thought, pondering what might have brought on this near about-face in Axel’s personality, and is so engrossed in his own musings that he fails entirely to notice the assassin reemerge from the building. Axel slides up to Isa, bumping the Keyblade Master’s arm with a hip and bringing him back to the present, and grins as he brandishes a large keyring with a singular antique-looking brass key dangling uselessly from it.

“I’m surprised you didn’t opt to simply break into a room for the night.” Isa deadpans, only half-serious, as he eyes the smug way Axel twirls the keyring around his finger. “ _Surely_ that would have been easier.”

“Thought about it,” Axel shrugs, pocketing the key in one smooth motion, and moves to help Isa back to standing, “But I didn’t want to have to see you make that face.”

“What _face_?” Isa sputters, incredulous as Axel once again slips his arm around Isa’s middle.

Unthinking, Isa sets his hand atop Axel’s as he leans on him for support, and notices for the first time how _warm_ he is. Heat seems to emanate from every inch of him but in a pleasant sort of way that distantly reminds Isa of coming home to a roaring fireplace after spending all afternoon playing in the snow.

“You know the one.” His reply is gentle, nearly murmured, as he begins to lead Isa towards the room. “You used to make it all the time when we were kids and I did something stupid. You still make it sometimes.”

Heat rises to the apples of Isa’s cheeks at the response and there’s a curious part of him deep inside that passively wonders if the heat is due to his current proximity to the fire elemental or… something else. A knot forms in the pit of his stomach, and Isa shifts uncomfortably in Axel’s surprisingly strong grasp.

Luckily, The pair reach the room before Isa’s lack of a retort is able to develop into anything more awkward, and as Axel reaches into the pocket of his coat to retrieve the key to the door, Isa thanks the gods with a melancholy smile that Axel is apparently less invasively talkative than Lea used to be.

The door to the room swings open and, still without a word, Axel leads Isa across the threshold and into the room proper. It’s small- without a doubt- but not _cramped_ by any means. The atmosphere of the place has a feeling of familiarity to it- like one’s home away from home and- as Axel helps Isa over to the large bed sitting on the far side of the room, the Keyblade Master can’t help but wonder if the hotel’s proprietors have a sort of charm set on the room to amplify the cozy feeling within.

The two men sit heavily atop the bed; first Isa, as Axel eases him off his shoulders, then Axel- who goes down with a heavy, almost weary sigh. The silence that follows as Isa tries to stretch out the pain that still lingers in his torso is surprisingly comfortable, and it’s not until Axel clears his throat with an awkwardness that Isa didn’t think him still capable of, that Isa’s eyes meet the other man’s.

“Well, I guess I’ll get outta your hair.” Axel reaches to scratch the back of his head awkwardly and, for just a minute, he is reminiscent of the sixteen-year-old boy that Isa had spent so many years trying to track down. A pang of longing strikes deep in Isa’s core as he watches Axel stand. “You should get some sleep.”

“You’re not staying?” The question leaps from Isa’s throat with more desperation than he means and as Axel turns, eyebrow quirked at the gentle panic in Isa’s voice, the other man blushes a deep crimson. “I… I only mean- It’s late. I’m sure you could use the rest as well.”

Axel blinks dumbly at Isa, unsure if the offer is a genuine one. He scans the younger man’s face- looking for any hint of a lie- and, finding no ounce of deception in it, drops an embarrassed gaze to the floor.

“I…” Axel sighs forcefully through his nose and rolls his shoulders. “The floor doesn’t exactly look like the most comfortable place, y’know?”

“Nonsense.” Isa breathes an automatic reply, “The bed is large enough for us to share.”

Axel freezes, wide-eyed, as Isa responds and, again, he has to stare the Keyblade Master down quizzically.

“Oh, don’t give me that look.” Isa teases as he reaches up into his disheveled ponytail and begins to remove it from the elastic that is barely keeping everything in place. Axel swallows thickly, unable to look away, as Isa runs a hand through long steely-blue hair, combing out the snarls in silky locks with his fingers. “We used to share a bed all the time when we were younger. You were constantly sleeping over at my house and vice versa.”

“ _Yeah_! But…” The pitch of Axel’s voice raises just enough to be noticeable and the nobody winces. Embarrassed, he plops himself back atop the corner of the mattress, as far from Isa as he can manage. “That was _then_. _**Now** _we’re- you know-”

“If you use the words ‘mortal enemies’ I may actually hit you.”

“What? No! It’s just- ugh, **forget it**.” Axel huffs and crosses his arms tightly across his chest as the pair descend into a deep, uncomfortable silence.

The gentle ticking of the clock hung over the door to the room counts out the seconds that pass between them, and each tick feels like the span of the ten years it's been since they last called each other friend.

“I’m not going to _make_ you stay,” Isa breaks the silence finally, hesitating as he speaks to Axel. Absently, Isa reaches to fiddle with the scorched, tattered edges of his scarf- the one that had been _Lea’s_ in another life- and knits his eyebrows together. “I only- I think it would be nice.”

The other man looks over his shoulder at Isa and opens his mouth as if he means to say something. But Axel’s amber eyes- that Isa could _swear_ almost glow emerald in the low light of the room- fall to the bright yellow checkered pattern of the scarf around Isa’s neck and he only sighs once more before nodding in agreement, wordlessly acquiescing to Isa’s request.

“...I still light candles for you, you know.” Before Axel can turn his back to him again, the words are tumbling from Isa’s mouth and out into the air between them. Isa cringes internally, mortified at his sudden and earnest confession, but the soft gasp that Axel tries- and fails- to swallow, is reassurance enough for him to proceed. Tentatively, he continues, eyes staring off into the distance. “I hope that every one of them is the one that will light your way home.”

“I don’t _have_ a home anymore, Is’.” Axel throws his hands up in passive frustration, his voice cracking as if under duress, and as he lowers them back into his lap he clenches a leather-clad fist. “...neither of us do.”

Isa had heard of the destruction of Radiant Garden from his Master- been told how it had fallen completely to darkness not long after the pair had been lost to each other, and how now the world went by another name entirely- but a very small part of Isa had always been afraid to see the destruction for himself. Cowardly- to think that keeping himself away from his homeworld would make its descent to darkness that much less real, but it was a piece of him that Isa still wasn’t ready to let go. Hearing the defeated tone in Axel’s voice, seeing the way his shoulders slouch just so as he mutters his reply- it’s as much proof as if Isa himself had gone to the place.

“We could start a new one.” Isa offers softly, turning and reaching forward to set his hand atop Axel’s shoulder. “Find a new home, on a different world.”

And at that, Axel finally turns to face Isa properly. He turns and as their knees brush, Axel fixes Isa with an incredulous look.

“A Keyblade Master and a nobody. Sounds like a _perfect_ setup- sign me up.”

The sarcasm in Axel’s voice is light and joking and, despite the tense discussion between the two, they both manage a gentle laugh. It reminds Isa distantly of when they were young and would spend all night awake and giggling over things that would become inside jokes and memories for him to treasure.

But eventually, the laughter fades, and the light behind Axel’s eyes again dims to a shade of darkened honey.

“Are you… seeing anyone?” The question enters Isa’s mind in an instant and is asked just as quickly.

“ _What???_ ” Axel chokes out a laugh, doubling over with what looks like genuine mirth.

“I- I mean, it- I’m sorry,” Isa drags a mortified hand down his face, ignoring the rising heat in his cheeks as Axel looks back to him and stares him down, a crooked grin plastered across his angular face. “Forget it.”

“Nah- it’s fine.” Axel mimes wiping a tear away from the corner of his eye, just brushing the inverse purple teardrops that seem tattooed to his face. “Just sorta forward coming from _you_ , of all people.

Isa frowns but says nothing, and Axel continues with the tapping of a finger to his temple.

“Gotta have a heart to have any kinda feelings like that. So no. Not that my options are _great_ , to begin with.”

“Well then, you’ve…” Isa drops his gaze to his lap, wincing at the air of gracelessness that has overcome him. “... _been with people_.”

“Oh, yeah, _lots_.” From his peripherals, Isa can see Axel grin again, and he has to mask the almost _disappointed_ look that follows seeing the boastful pride of the other man, who continues as if he hasn’t noticed the dip in Isa’s disposition. “You?”

“No,” Isa answers too quickly. “Well- once. Or twice but.”

Isa swallows thickly and tries to put the shameful tryst out of his mind.

“Huh,” Axel hums thoughtfully and leans back onto his forearms. As he lies back, his lithe form stretching just so under the form-fitting leather of his coat, Isa can’t help but stare. “I thought Keyblade Masters had to take a vow of celibacy or something.”

And at that, Isa snaps from his staring and chuckles a very soft laugh. “No, it’s not _required_ … Though I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a common thing amongst the older Masters.”

Isa moves to mirror Lea’s position, lying back flat against the mattress, but as he moves a sharp pain stabs at his abdomen and he hisses, his hand flying to the source of the ache.

“You’re hurt.” Axel is on him in a flash, pushing himself back up to seated and positioning himself over Isa. “Let me see.”

Isa does as he’s bid- unmoving as dexterous, leather-clad digits feel gingerly across Isa’s midsection until Axel’s hands brush the source of the injury and Isa winces. The nobody reaches for the hem of Isa’s shirt and pulls it up and over Isa’s ribs, exposing the other man’s bare skin- and three large gashes across his side- to the room.

“Thought you were usually more careful than this,” Axel murmurs, his eyebrows knitting together.

“In my defense,” Isa closes his eyes and breathes in as deeply as the injury will allow him, “I was distracted.”

“So you think I’m a distraction.” Axel teases, sticking his tongue out as he motions to summon a Cure spell. “It’s ‘cuz I’m so devastatingly beautiful, right?”

Warm piquant sensations wash over Isa as the Cure spell is applied to him, and soft green light circles the pair. The feeling is euphoric, and the Keyblade Master can’t remember ever having a healing spell set on him that felt so pleasant. With a distant smile, he stretches the area, testing it, and finds that the pain is already well on its way to receding.

“...Yes.”

Axel’s hands fall from Isa’s midsection and, again, the assassin breathes a tiny, almost imperceptible gasp. Isa’s eyes flutter open and he pulls himself up onto his forearms, searching for Axel’s hands and their warmth.

“What are you getting at here Isa?” Axel sits back and frowns. His tone is so soft, so _gentle_ , that Isa’s heart nearly breaks at the question.

“I don’t…” he begins, considering, “I’m sorry, what do you mean?”

“I mean- this!” Axel throws his hands up and gestures around the room. His honeyed eyes follow his gesticulating until he circles back around to Isa. He motions at the other man’s still exposed abdomen. “All of this!”

Isa hums quietly in understanding and pushes himself back to sitting completely upright, before reaching out and grabbing Axel’s hands in his own. The other man’s eyes widen in response but he doesn’t pull back. Rather, he seems to lean into the touch- his lips parting into a silent ‘oh’ as Isa pulls him even closer.

“I know that Lea is still in there somewhere,” Isa murmurs as he cups his hands around Axel's. Even through the insulating leather of his gloves, there’s a warmth radiating from them that mix with his own chilly digits in a way that just feels right. “Call me naive, but-”

“You’re naive,” Axel interjects bitterly, his eyes trained on their clasped hands.

“Call me naive, **but** I still think there’s hope for you.” Isa pulls Axel’s hands to his face, and the assassin complies as the other man maneuvers them so that one hand is cupping Isa’s face and the other remains in the Keyblade Master’s grip. Gingerly, Isa raises Axel’s hand to his lips and places a singular, chaste kiss upon the leather. “I still think I can drag you home.”

And with that singular sentence, it’s as if the floodgates to Axel’s not-heart burst open.

In an instant, he’s on Isa- desperate hands grab the other man’s face and pull him in for a kiss that Isa is wholly unprepared for. The Keyblade Master gasps into their kiss, and Axel takes the opening for what it is- kissing Isa deeper and with all the feeling that Isa was told that a nobody like Axel was unable to still feel. Their embrace is unyielding- tongue and teeth and the taste of smokey cinnamon coalesce into a heated kiss that Isa wishes would never end.

Axel’s hands fall from around Isa’s cheeks, down his neck, and to his shoulders. Isa stiffens as the leather of Axel’s gloves brushes the frayed cotton of his scarf and- for a brief moment- Isa recounts the last time Axel’s hands had been so near to his throat. _It had been hot, unbearably so, and the searing sensation of fire incarnate on supple flesh still burned bright in his memory._ He swallows thickly, willing the recollection away.

But it’s too late. The other man notices the subtle change in Isa’s disposition and he pulls back, licking the corner of his lips as he sits back onto his knees.

“What?” He asks, his breathing heavier than it was only a moment ago. “Something wrong?”

“No- no, nothing’s wrong.” Isa smiles thinly- reassuring- before reaching up behind his neck to haltingly undo the knot that fastens the scarf around him.

The faded yellow fabric falls limply between them and Axel hesitates, reaching out after a beat to run a finger along a scorched burn mark that mars the thing. His eyebrows lift with understanding, and he mutters a sheepish ‘oh’. Golden irises flit to stare- searching- at Isa’s neck, where the scarf had been only moments ago, but the collar of Isa’s shirt obscures the scar from view.

“It’s fine.” Isa reassures, reaching his hand out to touch Axel’s cheek. “Come back to me, please.”

“It’s not fine! He- I-” Axel roars suddenly, frustration flashing across his face for an instant before his anger fades and his shoulders droop pathetically. Axel grabs the fingertip of a glove between his teeth and, with very little difficulty, pulls the thing fully off his hand. He flexes the long, slender digits of his hand, and blinks at them as if considering. Tenderly, he reaches out to touch a fingertip to Isa’s face and traces the scar that brands the bridge of Isa’s nose. Isa sighs, shaky, anxious, and yet somehow satisfied. The subtle warmth radiating from Axel’s calloused fingertips seeps into Isa’s chilled skin and seems to scratch an unbearable itch that the Keyblade Master didn’t even know _existed_. And at that moment, he knows he wants more.

Axel speaks again, his trembling voice hardly above a whisper as he knits his eyebrows together. “I’ve done so much to you. I can’t stop _hurting_ you. I don’t-”

Isa grabs for the hand hovering inches from his face and presses the palm of it to his lips, cutting Axel off with a gentle _hush_.

“That’s in the past.” Teal eyes meet those of liquid amber and hold their connection. “Just for tonight, forget all that. Be with me. Please.”

A heartbeat’s worth of silence passes between them before Axel finally nods, agreeing, and it’s as if all the tension between them is melted away like wax held too long under the sun.

Isa pulls the other man back to him, embracing Axel in another heated kiss, and the soft moan that Axel slips into Isa’s mouth as they kiss is like it’s own slice of heaven. A shiver runs up Isa’s spine as Axel takes him gently by the shoulders, breaking their kiss so that he can maneuver the other man back to lying flat against the mattress.

Axel swings a thin leg over Isa’s thighs, straddling him properly, and dips back down to kiss the Keyblade Master. He trails hot, desperate kisses, interspersed with tiny nips along the strong, sharp curve of Isa’s jaw, and down to his neck. Isa whines softly, his eyes falling shut, as Axel sucks against the unmarred skin and, reflexively, he grinds his hips up towards Axel’s- prompting a soft groan from him.

Slender fingers wander the expanse of Isa’s chest as Axel kisses him- touching, feeling, _teasing_ , until his fingers brush the hem of Isa’s shirt. There’s only but a moment’s hesitation, Axel’s unspoken out to Isa- should he desire it- but after receiving no objection from the other man, Axel dips his fingers beneath the edge of the shirt and pushes the fabric the rest of the way up and over Isa’s head, fully exposing his bare chest as he throws the now useless article of clothing across the room.

Though the temperature in the room is comfortable, the sudden exposure of naked skin to open air is a jolt to his body, and Isa can feel goosebumps begin to break out along his arms. He arches his back, his body unconsciously searching- yearning- for the heat of his partner’s body. But the heat is nowhere to be found and, reluctantly, Isa peeks an eye open.

Axel is staring at him, an expression Isa can’t quite place written across his pale face. Isa arches an eyebrow- unspoken question posed to the other man- but, in his heart, he knows exactly what demons now haunt the corridors of Axel’s mind. Sucking in a deep breath of air, Axel reaches to touch the scars- _his scars_ \- with a trembling hand. He traces an apprehensive finger along the faded burns that mark Isa’s throat and swallows thickly; he looks as if he means to speak- but Isa stops him before he can get the words out.

“Axel,” he almost whines as he wriggles beneath the other man, “Lea… _please_.”

And Isa’s simple, singular pleading word is enough to bring the nobody back to him.

It’s as if a switch in Axel’s brain flips off and, in a moment, he’s back to admiring the curves of Isa’s sculpted form. He dips his head back against the skin of Isa’s collarbone, just grazing his sharp teeth along the length of it. Isa’s breathing hitches as he begins to feel the warmth of Axel’s breath move south, and again his eyes fall shut so that he can properly enjoy the sensation.

Axel leaves a languid trail of kisses down the length of Isa’s chest, pausing only to take one of Isa’s nipples in his mouth. He sucks on the sensitive skin, flicking his tongue against the bud, and the heat of his breath washes over Isa like the warmth of the sun against skin that has gone without for many months. Axel’s free hand snakes to Isa’s other nipple, and he takes the thing between two adroit fingers, rolling the hardening bud with just enough pressure to force a soft hiss from Isa.

The nobody moans against Isa in response, rolling sharp hips against the Keyblade Master’s, and it’s then that Isa notices how overpowering the knot in the heated pit of his stomach has become. Desire, burning with all the fervor of Axel himself, seems to swallow Isa and he knows for certain what he’s suspected for quite some time now; that he wants Axel- all of him.

And as if he’s privy to the lust-drunk thoughts racing through Isa’s brain, Axel removes himself from atop Isa and wastes little time in removing the leather and dark material that clings to him. He repeats his motion from but a few minutes ago, taking the fingertip of his other glove between his teeth and pulling it off with very little effort. And almost as if it’s a well-rehearsed dance for Axel, he strips himself naked; tugging at the zipper pull of his coat while he kicks off his boots.

Isa pushes himself up onto his arms and watches, enthralled, as Axel undresses. There’s a chaotic sort of grace that comes from the way he wordlessly peels the leather of his jacket away from his skin- paler than Isa remembers, but with an unforgettable sunburst of freckles on either of his shoulders. The jacket falls to the floor into a crumpled heap and, as Axel works on shimmying out of the tight, black pants that still adorn his body, Isa notices for the first time how _thin_ Axel is. Lea had always been on the gangly, scrawnier side when the two had been growing up, but now… the sharp angles of his lithe form call to Isa.

Axel sits back on the bed as he pushes the dark fabric over his pointed hips and as his erection springs free from the confines of it, a familiar, fevered heat begins to boil in the pit of Isa’s stomach.

“Like what you see?” Axel cocks his head, grinning, as Isa drinks his form in.

“Mmm.” Isa hums breathlessly, unable and unwilling to respond with anything resembling his usual biting comeback.

Axel opens his mouth to retort but Isa catches him before he can speak, pulling the redhead in for another impassioned kiss. Axel kisses him back, nimble tongue slipping between Isa’s parted lips and, as the two kiss, Isa lets his hands wander. He drags his nails down the other man’s chest, taking special note of the way Axel groans into his mouth as nails catch his skin _just_ so, and pauses to circle a finger around one of Axel’s peaked nipples. The cold of the Keyblade Master’s fingers is a perfect complement to the warmth of the nobody’s torso, and he relishes the way that Axel seems to lean into his touch.

Gently, Isa pushes Axel backward- breaking their kiss with one last lick of the other man’s lips- and Axel obliges, curiosity and desire apparently having taken control of his faculties. As his back hits the mattress Isa allows himself to continue wandering the other man’s body and he lowers himself to Axel’s midsection. He ghosts his fingertips along Axel’s prominent hip bones, and the touch of the Keyblade Master prompts a stuttering roll of Axel’s hips in return.

His touch drifts further down and, as Isa runs a finger along the length of Axel’s cock, the other man lets out a shuddering sigh. The noise from Axel stokes the fire in Isa’s belly- the soft release of breath twinged with the hint of need- and he becomes suddenly painfully aware of the ache between his own legs, and the near- suffocating confines of his trousers. Isa repeats the movement of running a finger along Axel’s cock, but takes care in the sureness of the action; he increases the pressure of his thumb against the underside of it, pressing just so as he runs the pad of his finger along the dip at the base of the head.

Axel whines at the sensation and bites at his lip.

“A-all this buildup- and for _what_?” Axel blinks at the ceiling- emerald-gold eyes alight with need- and, for a moment, Isa is unsure if the other man is speaking to him or in general. “Didn’t take you for a tease.”

Isa clears his throat- embarrassment and understanding converging on him all at once- but it takes only a second for him to recenter himself. He shifts where he’s sitting and again takes in the long, lithe form of his (almost) lover. Axel is so pretty- but, then again- Isa always thought so. If things had been different, if circumstances hadn’t torn them asunder as cruelly as they had, where would they be now? Would they be together- would they be happy? Or would fate have had something else in store for them- something somehow worse? In the end, he supposes, there’s no point in dwelling on what could have been- he should be here, now, in what **is**.

He leans forward finally, aligning himself with Axel’s hips, and begins to his tongue over the soft skin of his hips and abdomen, pausing to suck at the sensitive skin that covers Axel’s prominent hip bones. His hand- which remains lightly wrapped around the shaft of Axel’s cock- tightens its grip gently, and the nobody gasps at the newfound pressure. Isa pumps the thing- once, twice- hesitantly and with eyes glued to Axel for any signs of displeasure, but the other man simply releases the tension in his shoulders with another sigh and grinds his hips up into Isa’s hand.

The Keyblade Master obliges him and, slowly, his movements begin to come in more confident strokes. Isa kisses the fiery skin of his lover as he handles the other man’s cock, nosing against Axel’s softness and breathing in the smokey, musky scent of him. His strokes are slow, deliberate, and Isa pays close attention to the bodily response from Axel as he moves; he squeezes- gently, but intentionally- at the base of Axel’s dick and the choked gasp that comes from the other man is like profound music to Isa’s ears. Inspiration hits him then, and Isa moves again. He keeps his grip firmly at the base of Axel’s dick- stroking, and pumping, and squeezing with fevered determination, but moves his mouth to the head of it.

Isa swipes his tongue along the slit of the other man’s cock, letting the warm, salty liquid that’s already collected there embrace him. The sensation of warm, wet saliva against Axel- along with the promise of what is very soon to come- spurs the nobody’s hands forward; he tangles long, gently fingers into the cascade of blue hair that surrounds Isa- tugging at the locks just enough to elicit a sharp moan from the Keyblade Master. Isa takes the hint for what it is and lowers himself further around Axel, taking the head of the other man’s cock in his mouth.

Axel inhales sharply through his nose, and Isa can feel the impatient twitching of Axel’s fingers in his hair as Isa swirls his tongue lazily around the head of his cock. Axel wants more from Isa, he can tell that much, but Isa is hesitant to give that to him. His past flings with other men (well, _man_ ) had been very few and far between, and the mood between the two of them had been polar opposite to the atmosphere here, now, between Isa and Axel. But Axel murmurs something to Isa, a string of soft encouragements as he untangles a single hand from Isa’s hair so that he can brush a strand of blue out of the other man’s face, and the hesitance in the pit of Isa’s stomach evaporates.

Isa bobs down, taking Axel in as much as he’s able, swallowing against the cock as he removes his hands from the base of it. Axel whimpers, hips bucking forward towards Isa and, before very long, the pair have settled into a rhythmic pace. There’s no other sound in the room- save for the soft humming from Isa as he sucks at Axel’s dick and the increasingly desperate whining from the nobody as he fucks Isa’s mouth. As Axel writhes beneath Isa’s touch, his breathing coming in shorter pants, the Keyblade Master can tell that he’s close and that their dance is about to reach its ultimate crescendo. Isa pulls away from Axel once more, dragging his tongue along the underside of the cock, and has just enough time to register Axel’s frantic, almost reverent moaning of his name.

“ _I-Isa...fuck--_ ”

And _**gods**_ , how Isa has waited, longed, fantasized about Axel- about Lea- calling his name like that.

Isa bobs his head back against Axel one last time and the other man comes hard; his grip on Isa’s hair tightens and Axel’s entire body shudders as he spills hot, salty release into Isa’s mouth and down his throat.

After what seems simultaneously like only seconds and an eternity, Isa pulls off of Axel, and the two collapse uselessly against the mattress. There’s silence for a solid minute between them, the only sounds the ambient ticking of the clock on the wall and their mutual gasping for breath. Distantly, Isa is aware of the hunger that still gnaws at him, the need to have Axel so completely but, for the moment, it’s all he can do to lie there and listen to the steadying breathing of his old friend.

The din of Isa’s erratic heartbeat finally fades from his ears, and it’s then that he notices that Axel has rolled to face him. Isa blinks at the other man, taking in the flushed complexion of him, and can’t help but offer the nobody a fleeting hint of a smile. Axel returns it, but there’s something devilish in the glint of his emerald-gold eyes.

“Take your pants off.” Axel nods his head once in the direction of Isa’s still-present trousers.

“I- what? Why?”

The other man doesn’t answer, instead only lunges forward to press his lips to Isa’s, wrapping them up in another heated embrace. Isa moans into the kiss, momentarily lost in the taste of Axel still on his palate, and fails to notice the thin, dexterous fingers that now dance at the fastenings of his pants, undoing them with ease.

Axel breaks the kiss and moves to dip his fingers beneath the layers of fabric that still adorn Isa’s body; he presses a singular digit against the wetness there and, again, his eyes come alive with something positively decadent. Isa rolls his hips up towards Axel’s touch and the other man chuckles, low and sly.

“Take your pants off, Is’, we’re not done yet.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is a really, _really_ late birthday present for [radovanryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/radovanryn/)! I'd been meaning to write some more about Axel and Isa for a while, so this was the perfect opportunity. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3


End file.
